Convertible automobile body



Se t. 30, 1930.

, E. P. DU FONT CONVERTIBLE AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed April 11. 1927Patented Sept. 30, 1930 UNITED T E ELEUTHERE IAUL- ronr, or iviolvrcnannr,"nn AwAnn' V CONVERTIBLE An'roMoBinn Bong-.1

Applicationlfiled April 11,

v My invention relates to an improvement in automobile bodies and moreparticularly to the provision of a body so constructed as to .permit ofthe conversion from an open to a closed type and vice versa, with aminimum of difiiculty and time. 7 r Heretofore numerous formsofconvertible automobile bodies have been devised, but have not provedentirely satisfactory pri 19 marily because of the complicationof theirconstruction and the practical difliculty of accomplishing theconversion from open to closed type and vice versa. I

' Now it is the object of my invention to provide a body so constructedthat it may beconverted from an open body to a closed body withrelatively the simplicity and ease of raising the top on the ordinaryopen body.

Further objects ofmy invention are to 20 provide a simple and economicalstructure whichwill be relatively inexpensive to construct and whichwill be highly efficient for the purpose intended.

Having now indicated, in a generalway, the nature and purpose, of myinvention, I

V willproceed to a detailed description thereof with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which there is illustrated a preferredembodiment and in which 33 Fig. 1 is a side view of a body for anautomobile embodying my invention, the'bo'dy lacing shown as closed.

a Fig. 2 is a sideview of thebody shown in Fig. 1, the body being open.

35 Fig. '3 is a side view of a window frame member. 7

Fig. 4 is a sectional vicw'on line 4-4:,'

. Fig. a indicates a body provided on both sides 1 with front and reardoors 6,1), which are j provided: with grooves within. which are adaptedto slide windows 0. The doors are of a height permitting the windows tobe wholly concealed therein and suitable means :5 of any well knowncharacter provided for raising and lowering the windows.

The body is provided at the forward edge of the front doors with windshield supports 03, within which is supported a wind shield of any wellknown type and fromthe top of 192?. Serial mime;

which asun shield e extends forwardlyh 7 vertical portions ofth'e windshield support onoppositesides (of the body are grooved in line with thegrooves in the doors and pro:

vides frame members for the winddws c.

The body. is provided witha collapsible topfcomprisiiig arearbowf/pivoted to the body and a bow h' I pijvotally connected to bow"f through brackets Portions of the'bow h,

. when thetop is raised, standvertically adja to cent the rear edges ofthe reardoors 2) and the forward edges of such vertical portions aregrooved in line withthe grooves 1n the doors band afford framemembersfor the windows indoors b. Connected to the bow hthrough i pivoted linksjisa forwar'dlyextendingbow k to which infturn is connec'ted, throughpivotedflinkls front bow m, the transverse portion of which is adapted,when the top is raised, to' re'stin a recess IL. in the windshieldsupport and to be secured thereto to maintain the top inra'ise d"position; 5 lrafnie members, each having horizontal portion ,ad apted"to rest on and be detachably secured to opposite sides of thebody'between ,the doors 1),. as by means of wing screws p, are provided withvertical extensionsg,provided-with grooves which extend in line with thegrooves in the front and rear .of the rear and front doors 'b and formside frames forthe windows 0 in the doors respectively, and withhorizontal extensions 1", the ends of which are secured to the verticalportions of the bow it and wind shield support (Z respectively by meansof dowels s, and which w ndows 0.

The topis provided with a cover t, of any suitable material, secured tothe body at the rear end to the bow min front. The top cover is providedon each side with an extension M, which extends down between verticalportions 9 of the frame member and is adapted to be detachably fastened,by means of any suitable form of detachable fastener 21, to the framemember throughout its extension.

are grooved and form the top ,frames for the In the operation of myinvention, assuming that the body is closed as shown in Fig. 1 and p pit is desired to open it, the top covering is de-v tached-from the parts0, g and r of the frame members, the windows 0 lowered into the doorsand the forward end of the top released from the wind shield support.The top may then be lowered as an ordinary collapsible top. The framemember is then removed, after removing the wing screws 1?, and stored inany convenient place. The frame member may be made up of jointedsections or sections hinged together for convenience in storing, ifdesired.

When it is desired to close the body, the frame member is secured inplace by the wing screws p, the top raised as an ordinary top and thetop covering secured to the frame member. The windows 0 may then beraised and the body will be efficiently enclosed.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is The combination with an automobile bodyprovided with a pair of spaced doors in each side and windows slidablewithin the doors, said body being provided with upright posts forwardlyof the front doors, of frame members each comprising a horizontalportion adapted to be secured to a side between the doors, and aplurality of upright members arranged to form frame members for thewindows, an uprightcollap'sible top frame including a member at the rearof the rear door and a plurality of link-connected.members carriedthereby and adapted, under downward pressure, to expand lengthwise ofthe automobile body and form a roof frame engaging said upright posts,and a cover for the top frame having portions adapted to extend betweenthe upright members and to be secured thereto to apply downward pressureagainst the link-connected members and thereby hold the roof frameagainst the upright posts.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, atMontchanin, Delaware, on this fourth day of April, 1927.

ELEUTHERE PAUL DU PONT.

